Novel marketing package attracts crowds to Oasis

ATTRACTED by an extensive advertising promotion and discount pricing, thousands visited the show flats of the Oasis at South Horizons in Ap Lei Chau last weekend.

While a number of visitors were potential buyers, some might have gone out of curiosity to look at the much-promoted furnished flats created by well-known architect Kenneth Ko Man-on.

The provision of interior design furnishings is rather a gimmick, and so is the developer's offer to lease out the flats for buyers.

For end-users, it is questionable how many of them would like to pay an extra $200 per square foot for the units. A buyer must pay an extra $129,000 for a 645 sq ft furnished flat and $190,000 for a 950 sq ft furnished unit.

Buyers are also unlikely to take much heart from the developer's leasing offer as they can easily rent out their units through estate agents.

The hotel-style services such as cleaning and laundry offered by developer Hutchison Whampoa Properties' hospitality subsidiary is nothing new. Similar services were highlighted at last year's sale of Bayshore Towers, developed by Cheung Kong (Holdings) at Ma On Shan.

These sweeteners are not essential in stimulating the buying desire of genuine end-users but provide good talking points for the Oasis sale and enable the project to stand out among others.